If you saw my Facebook update today, you already know that I turned in the manuscript for the short story The Evil Among Us. It is with the editor at this moment. That in itself is an amazing feeling. To know that I am just a month or so from having my first piece of the Pariah universe out there for you to read is exhilarating.

But, as good as that feels, it might have been secondary to the felling of stepping back into my novel. I hadn’t touched it in a little over a month. With all the trauma in my personal life, it was comforting to get back in there with Colt and all the characters that are so much a part of me.

One thing that this time away from my novel gave me was an intense appreciation for the story of within Pariah. I think with developing stories for The Dialogue with Richard Howk like the Steve Bertman episode (below) and working on the short stories, it gave me a greater understanding of the pariah phenomenon. In the end I think it is going to result in a better overall novel and experience for the reader.

Today for me was like coming home to see an old friend. It felt so comfortable to dig back into to those characters. I didn’t realize how much I had missed them until I spent that time away. I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with them in the near future.